Rite of Passage
by Cookweave
Summary: A non-romantic short story that is part of a series centered two years before the events of Soul Edge. This story is about Tira


January 15th, 1582

A pair of people are walking through the streets of Koln, Germany. From initial looks, the two of them are simply family that are enjoying a day with the hustle and bustle of a market. In this little family unit are a mother and a child. The parent carried a sword upon her hip, a common sight in a country that is becoming more and more unstable with each passing moment, and the girl appeared to be carrying a hula hoop, her favourite toy.

However, this family was not normal.

"You know the plan, go and wander off. Take this," the female gave the young girl a bag of coins, before applying a small tap to her back. She ran off into a back alley. Her task was to create the distraction and try to get as many guards in a panic as possible. The mother would cry in hysteria at the fact that her daughter is missing, whilst the child would perform her duty.

This little family were not a normal family. They were assassins.

Once she was a sufficient distance away from the main crowds, the girl would remove the wrapping away from her hula hoop. The sheen of steel would glimmer off of the low winter sun and shine with a ghostly whiteness, thanks to the thick layer of snow that was upon the floor. This was a ring blade, a signature weapon of her guild, as well as one of the most dangerous weapons that can be dreamt of. The cloth wrap around it was a cloak, which she soon put upon her head. Hiding the weapon away behind a set of empty barrels in the side alley next to an inn, the girl would begin to run about the more domestic areas.

The Birds of Passage were a notoriously savage, yet sophisticated form of assassin's guild. They were not ones for subtlety in their murders, however tracing them was extremely difficult despite their signature. Their attacks were often done indirectly, and their use of children was one of the reasons that they were most successful. A child is never a suspect in a murder.

This was one of the children that they use for their dirty work. She is promising to the guild for her abilities. She is a vicious killer, and only feels most alive in the thrill of a hunt, or even in the act of slaughtering with her own hand. She is able to blend into the crowd at the drop of a hat, and feign emotions such as joy, fear or sadness. But in truth, the girl does not feel anything. Emotions are a crux that lead to mistakes. Mistakes lead to traces, and traces lead to being caught. Such is the way of the life of an assassin.

This girl was being initiated in the same way that most members of the Birds of Passage grow up. She was locked in a cage alongside fifteen other children, all of whom were orphans or otherwise had no connections to anyone. The children were simply left to die, before one of them finally succumbed. The others were given enough food and water to fully strengthen them once again. The second child died, and the same thing occurred. This twigged in the girl's head that once a child died, they would eat. Come that night, the girl went over to the girl next to her and wrapped her hands around the other's throat whilst she slept. The other girl would first squirm and struggle violently, limbs flailing, but then grew weaker, slower. The girl would continue squeezing until the girl's eyes faded, dead.

The assassins noticed that this was the first kill, and instantly took her out of the cage. She was treated like a princess for that one night. She was bathed, given a feast, given new clothes, a new bed and most importantly, was given a chance to join the Birds of Passage.

Come the morning, the girl was awakened and brought back to where the cages were, and more importantly, back to the corpse of the girl whom she had killed for her freedom. "Girl, you did what you needed to do. If you kill, you will be rewarded by us. Kill to survive," the guard of the cage would tell the first killer. Inside of the cage, the children were all isolating themselves from one another. The kill had put them all into a sadistic game of chicken, people seemingly analysing the weakest targets, picking their moments and waiting for their chance to strike. In order to increase tensions, the guard picked the five-year old up and allowed for her to place a knife in the cage of children. That blade was their key to freedom, but with twelve kids and only one blade, the tension would raise to a point of boiling over.

Everything was dark, only lit by torches upon the walls. The girl couldn't remember what the outside looked like. The Birds of Passage took the babies and raised them in the hideout, until they were old enough to be initiated. Being led away, the girl would be brought into another room where a lone woman was naked, chained down to be on all-fours. In her eyes were no hope. She had been tortured both mentally and physically to the point of giving up. She had lost count of how long she had been locked up, used and abused by other members of the guild. She was not human anymore. She was simply a waste of space now.

"Grant the traitor her respite. She has been used for all we need her," the male would state. This was another part of the mindset that the guild builds up in their assassins. By exposing them to twisted situations like these, they teach the mindset that all parties benefit from the killing, even the person that is being slain. Being handed a knife, the adult would guide her hand as to where she needed to place the blade. Just as a parent may help their child to stir cake mix, the male helped the girl to press the blade into the woman's throat and tear across it. The blood would begin to rush from the would down the body of the victim, giving her one final bath of crimson before the chains were released, causing her body to collapse to the floor.

Training beyond this was strict. Perfection was expected after a small amount of time, and anything less than that was punished severely. The girl still proved to be a prodigy of death, even being put into a secretive part of the organisation. It was here that she learned her ability to use the ring blade, as well as how to deal with other Birds of Passage, ones that went rogue. Once she had finished, the man who guided her to her first true kill would finally award her with the final piece that she was missing.

"Congratulations, girl. You will now be known as Eiserne Drossel."

Eiserne Drossel had taken the time to look around and through each of the windows. Before they had arrived in the town, her and her handler, the elder assassin, memorised the face of their target, an ex-assassin who deserted after refusing to complete a task. The girl did not know who this man was beyond that, only that he was an enemy, and needed to be eliminated. The handler would give a scream, yelling about how her child was lost and that the guards needed to find her. That was the signal that the plan was in action.

Silently, the girl would peer through windows and doorways and soon enough, Eiserne Drossel had found her target. Sneaking up to the window and glancing in, she would see that the target was alone. There was no one looking around, so now was the time to strike. Tearing her clothing, the girl would punch herself in the eye twice, the second strike allowing her to feel it start to swell. Drawing a knife, she would silently cut herself open above the swollen eye, before plunging the blade into her side. It took all of her willpower to not release a scream of agony, but the young assassin was able to hold her tongue. The man was completely unaware and was reading a book. Eiserne Drossel would then silently make the scene look as if there was a struggle, before stumbling away back to where she had hidden the ring blade. Wrapping the weapon back in the cloak, she made it seem like a harmless hula hoop once again, watching as the guards were going into a panic looking for her.

She would then take the time to stumble back in, panting and stumbling. She had now bled a fair bit, as even the best actor could not portray being on the brink of death effectively. She was instantly spotted by one of the guards who rushed over to her. "She's hurt," he would yell, before another guard rushed over, and brought the other assassin over.

"My baby!" she would scream as she took Eiserne Drossel into her arms, the hysteria on her face clear, although she knew this was what would happen. She would press her hand against the exposed stomach wound, slowing the bleeding before wrapping it tightly in her own cloak to stop it bleeding entirely "Show me where you went, sweetie… we are going to get this bad man…"

Of course, this was all a well-played façade. The mother would hold Eiserne Drossel in one arm, as the guards began to swarm around the two females. They were all putting themselves in harm's way in order to find this 'attacker' and bring him to justice.

Eiserne Drossel led the group directly to the home of the defected Bird of Passage, the bloody knife conveniently left at the scene to be found by the guards. They were so stupid to fall for this performance without any question, as a group of guards busted open the door. The home was empty, clearly the man had found the trap and decided that he needed to flee before he was caught. This worked perfectly, as this only threw more guilt upon the male.

Upset, one of the guards approached the two, a frown upon his face. "I'm sorry," he said glumly. "We can't find him in here anyway. He must have run away. But worry not, all of the guards will be told to hunt him down. For what he did, he's considered dangerous, and the entire garrison will be told to not bother bringing him in alive. We'll see him dead for doing such an atrocity.

"See, Eiserne?" the woman would whisper as she gently held the girl in her arms. She was stunned that this, the gambit of an eight-year-old girl, worked out so effectively. "The nasty man won't try to hurt you anymore…"

Eiserne would bury her face away in the scarf of her 'mother', attempting to garner more sympathy with the guards. She would begin to weep fake tears, just to hammer in that she was terrified. It was working perfectly, as the guard would gently place a hand upon her shoulder. "Sorry," the mother would say. "She's just shy."

It had been a few hours since the girl had led the guards to the home of their target. Eiserne Drossel and her handler had been taken to a safe room in the garrison of the city. This room was rather homely, and completely unlike anything from where the two made their real home. A wooden floor, small fireplace and well-kept beds made the room feel no different to a high-class inn. The girl lay on one of the beds, as the woman sat on the side of the other.

"You are lucky that this worked out," the woman would say, turning over to look at the girl. Her voice, unlike earlier, was emotionless. She was not somebody who believed that handling such a prodigal assassin was particularly fun, especially when the child was the one that had come up with the plan of assassination. To think that she would come up with the idea of framing him for the attempted murder of her, she truly was mad. "If you missed the safe place to stab, you were dead."

Giving a nod, the girl then turned her head away from the other, to allow herself to stare at the wall for a little while. It had been two hours they had been kept there. They were away from danger, but they had not eaten since yesterday. She may have been emotionless, dangerous and extremely volatile but in the end, she was still just a growing girl, and soon enough, a rather audible growl escaped from the stomach of the girl.

The woman stood up and poked her head out of the door. She may not have thought that the role of handling a child assassin was one to be considered fun, but that did not mean that it had perks. For one, this mission was going to be her last, as after this, she would be allowed to retire and raise a family of her own. This would not be without condition though, as she will be watched from the shadows. The second that she reveals anything about her past life, or the group to the outsiders, her life, as well as the life of anyone that heard, is forfeit.

The second perk was that she got to work with children. Despite the fact that the children that she spent the most time were like Eiserne, she still loved the time she spent training them, teaching them how to kill. Handling was boring but being able to spend time with cute kids was certainly not. That stomach growl was a reminder that the girl was still a cute child and needed to still be cared for despite her ruthlessness.

"Excuse me," she would say to the guard by the door. "My daughter is starting to get hungry. We were travelling from out of town and haven't had a chance to eat yet. Is it possible that someone could bring us some food?"

The guard immediately perked up at the sound of the gentle voice. It was as if the entire garrison were completely charmed by the mask the pair had put on, and were working entirely for them, no questions asked. "Certainly," he responded, before wandering off and past another guard. This one had a stern look upon his visage. He had a small cut upon his cheek and sweat dripping from his aged brow. This was the guard captain on duty, and he was heading directly towards the girl's room. He would knock at the door and come in once the woman gave him the all clear to come in.

"Damned knave can't even guard a door properly," the grizzled veteran would growl as he glanced to the girl.

"Oh no, it was my fault. Eiserne was hungry, so I asked if he could possibly bring some food," the woman said with a smile on her face, as the guard took a seat on a small wooden chair set to the side of a desk in the corner of the room. He seemed exhausted, but also relieved and somewhat proud of the situation.

"Oh, that is fine then. I won't chew him out and embarrass him then," the veteran spoke with a hearty chuckle, leaning back on the chair ever so slightly. It seemed to creak a little underneath the weight of his armour, but the frame itself seemed to remain sturdy. "Regardless, I have good news. The attacker has been captured, and he'll be in the gallows in around thirty minutes. You'll be able to see the execution from the window there."

A smile came to the face of Eiserne as she still faced away, looking into the wall. This had gone perfectly, and the fact that she had predicted exactly how the target would react only made this kill seem even more satisfying, even though the body could not be confirmed.

"It was easier said than done though, the bastard killed two of my men."

"That is awful! I guess that is why he is being executed without being tried?"

"Yup. Don't need to try him when the guards saw him do it with their own eyes," the male would state, before standing up and placing a hand upon the child's shoulder once more. "Don't worry, girl. You're safe now, nobody is going to hurt you."

"… okay…" Eiserne would say rather quietly. This is the first time that she has spoken the entire time and would likely be the last until they were out of there completely. Children simply could not help themselves, and so the Birds of Passage make sure they are silent on missions so that they do not spill any potentially secret information.

The guard stood up and took his leave from the room, closing the door behind him. The food was soon brought in and once again, the two were left alone. As Eiserne Drossel sat up, the woman handling her looked at the child, speaking only when she was certain there was not a soul in earshot. "You know the rules. No talking when others are around," she would scold the other.

"Yes, I'm sorry," the girl would respond, as she picked up the bread that she had been given by the guard. It was clear that this place had a fair amount of funding to it, since the bread was filled with both butter and meat strips. This was one hell of a meal to give to refugees.

"It doesn't matter, what you said was fine. Now, you should eat, we leave at dawn," the woman stood up and walked over to the window, before giving a long whistle. Before long, a raven would fly into the room and land on the window ledge, sitting there patiently. This was a carrier bird and was used in order to relay to the nearest main base. This allowed for fast messages that were undistinguishable to those who did not know the code of the assassins.

Then, a drum.

The raven hopped into the room and onto Eiserne Drossel's shoulder as she stood up to look out of the window. This bird was actually adopted as her own, as each raven used by the group was cared for as a pet. Stroking her index finger underneath the creature's left wing, the raven would nuzzle up to the hand as the two assassins watched the target be led out. There was no time to advertise this execution as public, so the viewing area was empty. The man was not bagged either, as the rope was tied around his neck. Once the drumming stopped, the trapdoor was released, causing the target to fall.

The sound of the mechanism clunking was followed by the impact of the rope suddenly losing slack, snapping the neck of the former assassin like a twig. The body shook from the initial shock, before almost instantly falling limp, hanging. "You remember what you must do, right?"

The girl would nod, before reaching into her bag and picking out a rose petal, dyed a beautiful cerulean. "Blue is for a successful mission, right?"

After a nod of approval from the other woman, Eiserne tied it to the leg of her bird, placing a small kiss upon the animal and letting it fly. It would make its way back to the nearest base of operations, where the petal would be taken over and sent once more, the message being relayed to the head of the guild.

The crew would shorten the rope, raising the corpse high in the air for all to see, a grisly trophy to remind people that they must not defy the law. But this corpse meant more than that. This was not only a trophy of order, a warning to criminals, but it was something more. Something sinister; a reminder to anyone in the underworld.

Nobody betrays the Birds of Passage.

END


End file.
